Catch for stocking or garment supporters



(No Model.)

G. H. PHELPS.

CATCH FOR STOCKING 0R GARMENT SUPPORTERS.

No. 538,383. PatentedAprn 30, 1895.

WW8 es. 3

" NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. PHELPS, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CATCH FOR STOCKING OR GARMENT SUPPORTERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,383, dated April 30,1895.

I Application filed October 2, 1894. Serial No. 524,727- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. PHELPS, of Newton, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Oatches for Stocking or Garment Supporters, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of a novel catch for use with stocking or garment supporters, the catch being especially devised to avoid cutting the fabric of the garment to be held thereby, and also to hold the fabric most firmly.

My improved catch comprehendsa metallic loop and a non-metallic elastic stud to be engaged by said loop, the stud being composed of soft rubber attached to a suitable normally extended resilient support by a metallic stud, the said support being operatively connected at its upper end with the end of the metallic loop.

Figure 1 in elevation shows a part of a stocking or garment supporter with my improved catch, and Fig. 2 a section thereof in the dotted line 00.

The metallic loop a, composed of wire, or it may be of sheet metal, has a slot converging toward its lower end to embrace the fabric lying on and about the stud to be described.

The loop a is and may be of any usual shape common to stocking supporters of this class, and, in practice, the upper end of the metallic loop will be attached to a suitable web b, or a bight thereof, in any usual manner.

The non-metallic yielding stud I), preferably of vulcanized rubber, will preferably be molded to and so as to form an integral part of the normally extended resilient support 1) preferably of somewhat stiff india rubber which is to contact with the-leg, the upper end of said support being operatively connected in suitable manner, as by stitches b or otherwise, to the loop a, as herein shown, through the medium of the web I).

The support o to which the stud b is molded or otherwise attached, when of india rubber, which I prefer, is a most important feature in a garment supporter of this class, as it may be readily cleansed, and while it may be bent sufficiently to render the easy insertion of the stud in the'slot of the loop, it has sufficient rigidity to aid materially in keeping the stud in the bottom of the slot where it belongs. Additional stiffness and strength may be given to the non-metallic elastic stud by a metallic post or rivet 19 I find that the friction of the soft rubber stud on the stocking drawn or held about it by the metallic loop a, takes such a firm hold on thestocking that the latter will not slip, and the employment of the metallic loop with the rubber or yielding surfaced stud, prevents the cutting of the most delicate texture, and consequently, the fabric of the stocking is not torn.

The normal extension of the resilient support b tends to maintain the stud in the lower end of the slot where it belongs, and the elasticity of the'stud aids in performing such function. i

This my invention is not limited to the exact shape of the stud, nor to the exact means shown for supporting the stud and connecting the support and metallic loop operatively to the web.

I am aware that spring buttons or studs and also spring loops have beenemployed in stocking supporters, but, while my invention has all of the advantages of such structures because of the elasticity of the stud, I gain further and substantial advantages because of the friction exerted by the button on the stocking or other fabric, and in the operation of the support 5 when of india rubber.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isi 1. A garment supporting catch, comprehending a metallic loop having a contracted or converging opening toward its lower end, and a non-metallic friction and yielding surfaced metallic centered stud and a normally extended resilient support therefor, to oper ate, substantially as described. f

2. A garment supporting catch, consisting essentially of a normally extended resilient india-rubber support having an attached india-rubber metallic centered stud, and a metallic loop to embrace said stud, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE H. PHELPS.

Witnesses:

GEo. W. GREGORY, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND. 

